The present invention relates to an apparatus having an endoscope database, and more particularly, to an apparatus that selectively registers endoscopes with the database.
An electronic endoscope system generally includes an endoscope which captures images inside a human body with a solid state imaging sensor such as a CCD, and an endoscope processor for converting the output signal of the solid state imaging sensor into a video signal while adjusting the color balance of the captured image.
Generally, the electronic endoscope is equipped with a memory such as an EEPROM which holds type and serial number of the endoscope as well as compensation data for white balance adjustment of the endoscope processor. When the electronic endoscope is connected to the endoscope processor for the first time, the endoscope processor reads the white balance compensation data from the EEPROM for adjusting the color balance of the captured image.
Since the color balance of the image is affected by the property of the circuitry of the endoscope processor, the endoscope processor modifies the white balance compensation data obtained from the endoscope in accordance with the property of its circuitry and adjusts the color balance of the image based on the modified compensation data.
The endoscope processor is equipped with a memory in which an endoscope database is constructed. The endoscope processor registers, with the endoscope database, the modified compensation data in association with the type and the serial number of the endoscope. When the same endoscope is connected again, the white balance of the endoscope processor is adjusted based on the modified compensation data stored in the endoscope database.
The conventional endoscope processor, however, registers the information of the endoscope, i.e. white balance compensation data, type, serial number and so on, with the database whenever a new endoscope is connected thereto, irrespective whether or not the endoscope is utilized in actual diagnosis. Therefore, the conventional endoscope processor tends to fill up the database with the information of only temporarily connected endoscopes and the database becomes not able to record information of endoscopes that are connected thereto for practical use.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an endoscope processor which does not register endoscopes, with the database, that are only temporarily connected thereto and therefore not practically used.